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Meet Todd Johnson!

#21
Todd
I attended the Christian Music Summit in Redmond and had a great time. I got a chance to play a Barker Bass (sounds like the one you play) a five string fretless with lines and tapewound strings. What a great sounding and playing bass. It was capable of electric fretless and upright tones just by favoring the bridge or neck pickups and dimming or boosting the passive tone. It was suprisingly easy to get used to
(not being an upright player) presumably because of the scale and the ease of playability due to the low action. I also had the priveledge to see you play in the acoustic cafe, your playing blew me away. I'm looking forward to picking up some of your CD's. BTW the ZON really is a stunning instrument, pictures would not do it justice.
 
#23
KeithPas said:
Todd
I attended the Christian Music Summit in Redmond and had a great time. I got a chance to play a Barker Bass (sounds like the one you play) a five string fretless with lines and tapewound strings. What a great sounding and playing bass. It was capable of electric fretless and upright tones just by favoring the bridge or neck pickups and dimming or boosting the passive tone. It was suprisingly easy to get used to
(not being an upright player) presumably because of the scale and the ease of playability due to the low action. I also had the priveledge to see you play in the acoustic cafe, your playing blew me away. I'm looking forward to picking up some of your CD's. BTW the ZON really is a stunning instrument, pictures would not do it justice.
Click to expand...

Hi Keith,

Hey, thanks so much for your kind, thoughtful and insightful post.

You're totally accurate in your observations of the BVB! It's REALLY ideal for guys like us to make a smooth and easy transition to the BVB!.......and like you said, it's SO easy to play and REALLY sounds GREAT and is suprisingly versatile in the wide range of sounds you can easily get from it. Plus, let's face it.....it's REALLY an attention getter!! BEAUTIFUL!!

Glad you enjoyed the music. :cool: Rich Severson is one of my favorite guitar players and also one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet this side of Lee Barker!! ;)

God bless,
 
#25
KeithPas said:
Todd
I attended the Christian Music Summit in Redmond and had a great time. I got a chance to play a Barker Bass (sounds like the one you play) a five string fretless with lines and tapewound strings. What a great sounding and playing bass. It was capable of electric fretless and upright tones just by favoring the bridge or neck pickups and dimming or boosting the passive tone. It was suprisingly easy to get used to
(not being an upright player) presumably because of the scale and the ease of playability due to the low action. I also had the priveledge to see you play in the acoustic cafe, your playing blew me away. I'm looking forward to picking up some of your CD's. BTW the ZON really is a stunning instrument, pictures would not do it justice.
Click to expand...

I was pretty busy throughout the summit (not much free time between sessions and general stuff), but I finally had a chance to try out these basses the last night before the final concert.

My impressions:

1. Very comfortable - it's been years since I've done any upright playing (more than I want to count), so I had apprehensions firing it up. However, these instruments are very nice to play and have a super feel to them. Thumb rests seem to be standard, and if you play up on the neck with your right hand, the upright vibe is phenomenal.

2. The 34" scale length is money!!! Really enjoyed not having to search for the notes (and relearn muscle-memory intervals).

3. Great craftsmanship is obvious in these basses. Nice wood, quality hardware, and quality pots/electronics. My preferred bass was the unlined 4 string fretless with the ebony fretboard....very sweet, and the LaBella nylon wound strings were the perfect match.

Conclusion - super product...one that I'm considering very seriously. Besides the points made above, the fact that the design is remarkably better physiologically for the wrists/arms is another great selling point.

Thanks to Iotanet and crew for the chance to play these beautiful instruments!

Jay
 
#26
Hi Todd,

I was one more that caught you at the CMS this weekend. Loved your set with the guys in the corner. It was fun to watch you walking all over the 6 and then someone else groovin on the upright 4.

One of these days, I'm going to have to get me one of those vertical 5's. (do they make a vertical 6?)
 
#27
DavidMc said:
Hi Todd,

I was one more that caught you at the CMS this weekend. Loved your set with the guys in the corner. It was fun to watch you walking all over the 6 and then someone else groovin on the upright 4.

One of these days, I'm going to have to get me one of those vertical 5's. (do they make a vertical 6?)
Click to expand...

Hi David,

Hey, the CMS was a blast!!! I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Yeah man, go get you a vertical 5. Great bass!!!

Right now Lee does not make a 6.....BUT....who knows??? Maybe if we keep bugging him he will!!! ;)

Thanks again for your thoughtful note.

God bless,
 
#28
Wassup?
Hey Todd, nice to see you here............ yeah, I know I'm late as always.... geez, I'm really getting old :hmm:

When we'll see you back at the MI?

Hope everything's great.

Big hugs

Mo'
 
#29
maurilio said:
Wassup?
Hey Todd, nice to see you here............ yeah, I know I'm late as always.... geez, I'm really getting old :hmm:

When we'll see you back at the MI?

Hope everything's great.

Big hugs

Mo'
Click to expand...

Hi Mo,

Always great to hear from you.

Alexis is threatening to have me back to M.I. sometime soon. We're just trying to find the right day. My schedule has been very hectic.......in a very good way. In fact, I just got back from filming my "electric bass technique" DVD. I'm hoping to have copies available by Christmas. Anyway......

Thanks again for your kind and thoughtful note.

God bless,
 
#30
Todd Johnson said:
Hi Mo,

Always great to hear from you.

Alexis is threatening to have me back to M.I. sometime soon. We're just trying to find the right day. My schedule has been very hectic.......in a very good way. In fact, I just got back from filming my "electric bass technique" DVD. I'm hoping to have copies available by Christmas. Anyway......

Thanks again for your kind and thoughtful note.

God bless,
Click to expand...

Great! Good to know!
Hope I'll see you soon at school.....

Happy Holidays!

Mo'
 
#36
So we'll all be at NAMM. New thread called for. Meantime, we're all worried about this ramp, and I'm the guy here with a few manual skills and 1800 square feet of sophisticated electrical tools all of which contribute to making any given piece of wood smaller. That being said, I know my way around ramps, having been at airports and loading docks, and I do have a pretty good grasp of working with asphalt, so I, Mr. Wylie, am obviously the one to rip that ramp outa there and replace it with a decent piece of tarmac. Just send that Yamaha 2manystring bass on down to Oregon and I'll get 'er fixed right up.

Did you want diagonal parking lines or parallel?

Lee "Save the Pavement" Barker
 
#37
Lee Barker said:
So we'll all be at NAMM. New thread called for. Meantime, we're all worried about this ramp, and I'm the guy here with a few manual skills and 1800 square feet of sophisticated electrical tools all of which contribute to making any given piece of wood smaller. That being said, I know my way around ramps, having been at airports and loading docks, and I do have a pretty good grasp of working with asphalt, so I, Mr. Wylie, am obviously the one to rip that ramp outa there and replace it with a decent piece of tarmac. Just send that Yamaha 2manystring bass on down to Oregon and I'll get 'er fixed right up.

Did you want diagonal parking lines or parallel?

Lee "Save the Pavement" Barker
Click to expand...

Way to go Lee.........you found another use for all that wood working equipment!! Way to go!
 
#38
Lee Barker said:
Meantime, we're all worried about this ramp, and I'm the guy here with a few manual skills and 1800 square feet of sophisticated electrical tools all of which contribute to making any given piece of wood smaller. That being said, I know my way around ramps, having been at airports and loading docks, and I do have a pretty good grasp of working with asphalt, so I, Mr. Wylie, am obviously the one to rip that ramp outa there and replace it with a decent piece of tarmac. Just send that Yamaha 2manystring bass on down to Oregon and I'll get 'er fixed right up.

Did you want diagonal parking lines or parallel?

Lee "Save the Pavement" Barker
Click to expand...

Hmmm.... Interesting offer. Perhaps I should just drive down with your necks, eh?? Personal delivery?
 
#39
If I were to go for a Barker Bass, which I admit I am considering, I'd like it to be a fretless five string, but strung E-A-D-G-C. Not only would I not have to worry about the Oomph of the B string that way, but any gigs I'd be using this style of bass for I'll more likely want the more treble voice for soloing than I'll want the lower notes.

I'm sure you get these questions frequently, but ...

o Does the bass use standard bass strings?

o Is there a flight case available for it? (I live in Alaska and buying a seat for the bass isn't practical).

By the way, Barker's website is GREAT. I can't believe all bass makers don't post mp3's showing off their bass tones.
 
#40
Thanks for the questions, Tom7. I especially like those I can answer, unlike Todd's, who often wants to know things like, "what's the square root of corn flakes?"

Doing up a nifty 5 string fretless with the tuning configuration you're requesting is no problem. I have done one like that for Ken Wacker, who lives in Colorado. His pic is on the "My Barker and Me" page.

Regarding roadcase, indeed. I have mine made by Mark at Rock Hard Road Cases. He does the bulletproof box and I do the custom foam insert. It's a good, practical solution to the flight problem.

I have no little pins in the Alaska part of my wall map. I'd be honored if you were the reason that gets changed!

Kindly,

Lee
 
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